The Edge of Forever

by Bretton, Barbara

  Poor Liv looked stricken with guilt. "I'm so sorry." Her voice trembled as she struggled to hold back tears. "I didn't realize it was a secret. I never would have said anything if I'd thought you hadn't told anyone yet."

  "I can't believe you told her and not us," Bettina said, gesturing toward Liv.

  "I didn't tell anyone," I protested.

  Janice fixed Liv with the kind of look that used to send her kids running to their rooms. "So how exactly did you know?"

  Liv gave a nervous shrug of her bony shoulders and remained silent.

  Janice and I exchanged glances.

  "A lucky guess?" I asked as another chill ran up my spine.

  "I didn't guess," she said. "I knew."

  "Trust me, honey," Janice said. "If we didn't know, you didn't know."

  "Janice is right," Lynette chimed in. "You couldn't possibly--"

  "I'd better go," Liv said and turned to leave at the same moment I moved closer to her. She stumbled and I reached out to steady her. I could feel the sizzle the second I made contact. Every neuron in my body registered the connection.

  And I knew I wasn't going to like what came next.

  "This baby brings danger," Liv Jensssen said and then she dropped to the floor like a rock.

  ~~end of excerpt~~

  A Skillet, a Spatula, and a Dream

  Introduction

  If you don't count lunches or the year my husband was overseas or the times we picked up a bite at the diner or called out for pizza or the weekends I cooked for a multitude instead of just for two or the dozens of eggplant parmigiana dinners I made for us before we got married, then it's safe to say I've cooked somewhere in the vicinity of 25,128 meals in my forty-plus years of wedded bliss.

  Think about that for a minute. Twenty-five thousand times I stared blankly into the glare of the refrigerator's bulb and wondered what on earth I was going to do with an egg and a piece of broccoli that could reasonably be called a meal. Twenty-five thousand times I stepped up to the stove with nothing but a skillet, a spatula, and a dream.

  In a way it's a lot like the way I feel when I sit down at the computer to start a new book. Trust me, an empty plate can inspire the same fear in a writer's soul as an empty page.

  I'm a work-at-home writer who loves to cook but I can do without the fuss that surrounds it. I don't want to clean the stove or scrub out the sink or slice those little Xs in the bottoms of a bucket of Brussels sprouts. I don't want to plunge my writer's hands into a writhing mass of ground beef when I'm making meatballs. And don't ask me to reach inside a dead turkey because I'll just have to draw a line in the stuffing. I love big bold flavors, one-pot meals, delicious salads, chill-chasing soups, and home-baked goodies. My favorite recipes are the ones that come with stories attached.

  I'm Barbara Bretton and I'm glad you found me. Let's cook.

  #

  STAYING HOME TONIGHT BROCCOLI SALAD

  We love broccoli around here. We love it almost any way you can eat it. Danielle introduced us to the wonders of Broccoli Salad back in the early 1970s and we never looked back. IT was Memorial Day, the year before she got married, and we were having a picnic in our backyard. We barbecued chicken. My sister-in-law brought the desserts. Danielle brought Broccoli Salad and a tradition was born

  The thing about this salad is -- well, it's the garlic. We use lots of it. An unholy amount. And once you use it and eat it, you'd better plan on staying home because you will be radiating eau de garlique from every pore.

  But it's worth it. This tastes great warm, room temperature, or chilled. It's even not so bad the second day, although why you would have leftovers is a mystery to me.

  Ingredients

  Broccoli, as much as you like, washed and sliced in 1" sections on the diagonal

  Splash of very plain salad oil

  Lemons

  Fresh garlic, as many cloves as you like, sliced paper thin

  Dash of salt

  Method

  Steam the broccoli until it's a half-step from the way you like it. One caveat: don't let it turn into mush, please. You want it to have a little backbone.

  Place steamed broccoli in a large shallow bowl. Lightly - and I mean lightly -- drizzle broccoli with an innocuous salad oil like Wesson. Barely enough to make a difference. So little that you wonder why you even bothered with it. Sprinkle the thinly sliced garlic all over the broccoli. Be daring! Now squeeze fresh lemon juice all over everything. (Feel free to use the frozen Minute Maid pure lemon juice in the yellow plastic bottle if necessary. Don't let the lack of fresh lemons keep you away from this salad.)Toss. You can eat it now. You can wait until it reaches room temperature. Or you can refrigerate it for a while and eat it chilled.

  If you love garlic, you will think you're in heaven.

  ~~end of excerpt~~

  Midnight Lover

  Jesse Reardon was the king of Silver Spur, a rough Nevada boomtown where he called all the shots. But then one hot and dusty afternoon, beautiful Boston socialite Caroline Bennett stepped off the stagecoach determined to avenge her father's death and claim what's rightfully hers: the Crazy Arrow saloon and Jesse Reardon's untamed heart.

  Find a sample here.

  Fire's Lady

  Beautiful, young Alexandra Glenn has been sent across the ocean to East Hampton to help restore the early paintings of renowned American Impressionist Andrew Lowell. Her excitement at the prospect of working with the aging master is quickly dimmed when she is confronted by Matthew McKenna, Lowell's mysterious houseguest and protector, who seems determined to drive her away.

  Danger lurks everywhere in the cottage by the sea, fueled by dark secrets and a need for revenge that reaches from beyond the grave and threatens Alexandra's very life. Is Matthew McKenna her sworn enemy or the only person she can trust?

  But on a starry night on a desert beach in her enemy's arms, Alexandra's suspicion turns into a fiery passion that not even danger can extinguish.

  From the golden meadows of Provence to the moonswept beach of East Hampton to the glittering mansions of San Francisco, Alexandra follows her heart to claim her destiny in the arms of the man she loves.

  See the video teaser at eBook Discovery or find a sample here

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BARBARA BRETTON is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 50 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries and she has received starred reviews from both PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and BOOKLIST.

  Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.

  Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; a RITA nomination from RWA, Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.

  Barbara cooks, knits, and writes in New Jersey.

  How to contact Barbara:

  Barbarabretton.com - Website

  BarbaraBretton = Facebook -Twitter

  Wickedsplitty - Ravelry

  Barbarabretton AT gmail DOT com E-mail

  ~~end of book~~

 

 

 
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